Soft anchors having increased engagement between deployment sutures and sleeve

ABSTRACT

A soft anchor having a sleeve, being a circular braided suture defining a lumen, and defining a first terminus, having a first terminus opening and a second terminus having a second terminus opening. Also, a deployment suture is engaged to the sleeve by extending into the lumen through a first broach point, then out of the sleeve through the first terminus opening, then into the sleeve through a second broach point, on the bottom-side, and then out of the lumen though a third broach point, then into the lumen through the second terminus opening and out of the suture though a fourth broach point, thereby creating a first lateral trap, between the first broach point and the first terminus opening, a second lateral trap, between the second terminal opening and the fourth broach point, and a central trap, between the second and third broach points.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/407,331 filed on Aug. 20, 2021, which claimsbenefit of provisional patent application, U.S. Pat. Appl. No.63/071,278, filed Aug. 27, 2020, which is incorporated by reference asset forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many soft, all-suture, anchor designs that include a sleeveand a deployment suture that passes through said sleeve and is pulled onto set the anchor. There is a trade-off between anchor size, whichdictates the minimum size of the pilot hole that receives the anchor,and the load-bearing capacity of an anchor, which limits an anchordesign's possible uses.

SUMMARY

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described andillustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which aremeant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. Invarious embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems havebeen reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed toother improvements.

In a first separate aspect, the present invention may take the form of asoft anchor having a sleeve, being a circular braided suture defining alumen, and defining a first terminus, having a first terminus openinginto the lumen and a second terminus having a second terminus openinginto the lumen. Also, a deployment suture is of a smaller diameter thanthe sleeve and is engaged to the sleeve by extending into the lumenthrough a first broach point, then out of the sleeve through the firstterminus opening, then into the sleeve through a second broach point, onthe bottom-side, and then out of the lumen though a third broach point,then into the lumen through the second terminus opening and out of thesuture though a fourth broach point, thereby creating a first lateraltrap, between the first broach point and the first terminus opening, asecond lateral trap, between the second terminal opening and the fourthbroach point, and a central trap, between the second and third broachpoints.

In a second separate aspect, the present invention may take the form ofa method of anchoring a suture to pilot hole in bone, which makes use ofa soft anchor that includes a sleeve, having being a circular braidedsuture defining a lumen, and defining a first terminus, having a firstterminus opening into the lumen and a second terminus having a secondterminus opening into the lumen. Further, a deployment suture, being ofa smaller diameter than the sleeve, and being engaged to the sleeve byextending into the lumen through a first broach point, then out of thesleeve through the first terminus opening, then into the sleeve througha second broach point, and then out of the lumen though a third broachpoint, then into the lumen through the second terminus opening and outof the suture though a fourth broach point, thereby creating a firstlateral trap, between the first broach point and the first terminusopening, a second lateral trap, between the second terminal opening andthe fourth broach point, and a central trap, between the second andthird broach points. In the method an introducer tool sized to push thesoft anchor into the pilot hole is used to push the soft anchor into thepilot hole and is removed. Then both ends of the deployment suture arepulled, thereby causing the soft anchor to deform and expand in atransverse dimension so that it is set in the pilot hole.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to thedrawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced drawings. It isintended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to beconsidered illustrative rather than restrictive.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of an all-suture anchor,according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the anchor of FIG. 1 , inserted into apilot hole.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the anchor inserted into the pilot hole ofFIG. 2 , with a further step taken of having set the anchor by pullingon deployment suture ends.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of an all-sutureanchor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND EMBODIMENTS

The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments toillustrate the principles of the invention. The embodiments are providedto illustrate aspects of the invention, but the invention is not limitedto any embodiment. The scope of the invention encompasses numerousalternatives, modifications and equivalent; it is limited only by theclaims.

Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, theinvention may be practiced according to the claims without some or allof these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

To assist the description of the scope and its components the coordinateterms [top-side and bottom-side] are used to describe the disclosedembodiments. The terms are used consistently with the description of theexemplary applications and are in reference to a preferred orientationof the anchor relative to a pilot hole, with the anchor top-side beingon top (that is closer to the opening of the hole) of the anchor bottomside when the anchor is in the pilot hole, in the preferred orientation.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a soft, all-suture anchor 10, includes adeployment suture 12 engaged to a sleeve 14, which is a braided,circular suture, defining a lumen. Anchor 10 has a preferredorientation, relative to the pilot hole 16 (FIG. 2 ), which defines atop-side and a bottom-side of 10, which coincides with the top andbottom in the drawings. In the production process, the sleeve 14 isbroached in a first broach point 18, on the top-side of anchor 10, asecond broach point 20, on the bottom-side, a third broach point 22,also on the bottom side, and a fourth broach point 24, on the top-side.Anchor 10 is pushed into the pilot hole 16, using an introducer tool(not shown). The deployment suture 12 is engaged to sleeve 14, enteringthe lumen of sleeve 14 at the first broach point 18, on the top side ofsleeve 14, then exiting at a first terminus opening 26, entering againat the second broach point 20, and then exiting at third broach point22. Both second and third broach points 20, 22 are on the bottom-side ofsleeve 14. Then, deployment suture 12 enters sleeve 14 at a secondterminus opening 28, and exits at fourth broach point 24, on the topside of sleeve 14. Accordingly, three traps are present, a first lateraltrap between first broach point 18 and first terminus opening 26; acentral trap between second and third broach points 20 and 22,respectively; and a third lateral trap between second terminus opening28 and fourth broach point 24.

To place into use, anchor 10 is pushed into the pilot hole 16, using anintroducer tool (not shown). Then deployment suture 12 is pulled,causing sleeve 14 to deform as shown (FIG. 2 ). The engagement of thedeployment suture 12 with the bottom side of sleeve 14, causes themiddle of sleeve 14 to be pulled up, thereby causing more folding ofanchor 10 and a better setting of anchor 10. The greater degree ofengagement of deployment suture 12 with sleeve 14, causes a denserdeployed anchor. If deployment suture 12 did not reenter sleeve 14between the first terminus opening 26 and the second terminus opening28, it would hang down into pilot hole 16, and not add to the transversebulk of the deployed anchor 10, as shown in FIG. 3 . Although this isnot shown, anchor 10 digs into the sides of pilot hole 16.

In one embodiment, adapted to be anchored in a 2.9 mm pilot hole, sleeve14 is made of braided polyester, is in a range of between 1 to 1.4 mm indiameter and is 28 mm long. The deployment suture 12 is a number 2suture, having a 0.5 mm diameter, and is made of ultra-high molecularweight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Alternatively, deployment suture 12 is inthe form of 1.4 mm width suture tape. In a further embodiment, sleeve 14is made of a mix of polyester and UHMWPE. In a further embodiment, madefor smaller diameter pilot holes, sleeve 14 is made entirely of braidedfibers of UHMWPE. Further embodiments are adapted to anchor in pilotholes of 1.3 mm to 2.9 mm diameter. Further embodiments have 2 separatedeployment strands 12, similarly engaged to sleeve 14. In oneembodiment, both strands are USP #2 sutures, in another embodiment onedeployment strand is a USP #2 suture and the other deployment strand isa suture tape, of depending on the variant, from 1.3 to 1.6 mm width.And in another embodiment the deployment strands are both suture tape,again depending on the variant, from 1.3 to 1.6 mm. In one embodiment,sleeve 14 is of a smaller than 1 mm diameter, such as a 0.6 mm diameter,to better fit into a smaller hole.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in an alternative anchor embodiment 10′, anadditional suture length 30 is added, relative to anchor 10, to provideadditional means for tying soft tissue to anchor 10, and thereby tobone. In further additional embodiments, additional suture lengths areadded, in parallel to length 112, for additional options in tying tissueto bone.

The disclosed embodiments are illustrative, not restrictive. Whilespecific configurations of the soft anchor have been described, it isunderstood that the present invention can be applied to a wide varietyof medical technology. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those possessed of skill in the art will recognize certainmodifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. Itis therefore intended that the following appended claims and claimshereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their truespirit and scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A soft anchor, comprising: a sleeve, being acircular braided suture defining a lumen and a diameter, and defining afirst terminus, having a first terminus opening into said lumen and asecond terminus having a second terminus opening into said lumen, afirst deployment suture, said first deployment suture is engaged to saidsleeve by extending into said lumen through a first broach point, thenout of said sleeve through said first terminus opening, then into saidsleeve through a second broach point, and then out of said lumen thougha third broach point, then into said lumen through said second terminusopening and out of said suture though a fourth broach point, therebycreating a first lateral trap between said first broach point and saidfirst terminus opening, a second lateral trap between said secondterminus opening and said fourth broach point, and a central trapbetween said second and third broach points.
 2. The soft anchor of claim1, wherein the soft anchor further comprises a second deployment suture,said second deployment suture is engaged to said sleeve by extendinginto said lumen through a first broach point, then out of said sleevethrough said first terminus opening, then into said sleeve through asecond broach point, and then out of said lumen though a third broachpoint, then into said lumen through said second terminus opening and outof said suture though a fourth broach point, thereby creating a firstlateral trap between said first broach point and said first terminusopening, a second lateral trap between said second terminus opening andsaid fourth broach point, and a central trap between said second andthird broach points.
 3. The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein said firstdeployment suture comprises ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE).
 4. The soft anchor of claim 2, wherein said first and seconddeployment suture comprises ultra-high weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). 5.The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein said first deployment suturecomprises a round suture or a suture tape.
 6. The soft anchor of claim2, wherein said first and second deployment sutures comprise a roundsuture.
 7. The soft anchor of claim 2, wherein said first and seconddeployment sutures comprise a suture tape.
 8. The soft anchor of claim2, wherein said first deployment suture comprises a round suture andsaid second deployment suture comprises a suture tape.
 9. The softanchor of claim 1, wherein said sleeve comprises a braided polyester.10. The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein said sleeve comprises polyesterand UHMWPE fibers.
 11. The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein said sleevecomprises braided UHMWPE.
 12. The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein saidfirst deployment suture or second deployment suture comprises a smallerdiameter than said sleeve.
 13. The soft anchor of claim 1, wherein saidsleeve comprises a diameter of 1 mm to 1.4 mm.
 14. The soft anchor ofclaim 1, wherein said sleeve is less than 1 mm in diameter.
 15. A methodof anchoring a suture to pilot hole in bone, comprising: creating apilot hole in bone, the pilot hole comprising an inner diameter;providing a soft anchor, the soft anchor comprises sleeve and adeployment suture, the deployment suture comprises a first end and asecond end, at least a portion of the deployment suture extends throughmultiple broach points to create at least three traps; providing anintroducer tool sized to push said soft anchor into said inner diameterof said pilot hole; and pulling on the first and second ends of saiddeployment suture, and thereby causing said soft anchor to deform from afirst position to a second position, the second position, compressingthe soft anchor in the vertical dimension to expand the soft anchor in atransverse dimension to be fixed in said pilot hole.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the transverse dimension of the soft anchor comprises adimension that meets or exceeds the inner diameter of the pilot hole.17. The method of claim 1, wherein the sleeve comprises polyester,ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), or polyester andUHMWPE.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the deployment suturecomprises a round or flat suture.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein thedeployment suture comprises a smaller diameter than the sleeve.
 20. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the sleeve comprises a sleeve diameter, thesleeve diameter comprises at least 30% or greater of the pilot hole.